Here we still have ticks, (I got three my first time there, even after using bug spray), poison ivy, and heat. We also have snakes, mosquitoes and poisonous spiders. The only reason it looks so barren is because its winter, usually there is a lot more foliage.

Some split quickly, some are already split, but still others I've been trying to split since August, so it's a mixed bag. There is also a low percentage of them having anything inside, even lower if you ignore the orbi's

The good news is you can sometimes find these eroding out of the concretions:

But some of the ones that crack out in the field can end up damaged and hard to ID like this:

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

Seriously though, I think fossiladdicts question is the right one. If that yellow stuff is enamel then you know for sure it's a jaw. If not it could be something else. I was thinking more of the edge of the carapace not the spine.

I managed to clean up the jaw a little more, and it is beginning to look like the 'teeth' are a different mineral than the 'jaw bone', but it is still hard to tell. The 'teeth' are beginning to look more round now though.

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

It's really difficult to tell in the picture, but what I've been noticing is that as i brush it clean the 'teeth' have begun to shine whereas the 'bone' has stayed the same sheen. As for the yellow 'enamel' before, I don't know what happened, it may have been a trick of the light or it may have rubbed off, i don't know, but it isn't there any more.

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

If I was to get a picture in cross section, would it help with the ID? When it first cracked open, it fractured on the wider 'bone' side and I put it back together with a solution of elmers glue and water so I should be able to let it sit in some water and open it back up, it just might be a little risky

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AgrilusHunter
46

AgrilusHunter 46

Do you have tools for prepping it out (airscibes and such), or do you know someone who does? Preping small nodule fossil can be tricky. I'm learning that the hard way. Still It looks like there is more in the nodule and I can't think of another way to get it out. I use dilute Elmer's too by the way, it works great on the siderite nodules I find here.

Edited January 27, 2013 by AgrilusHunter

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

Do you have tools for prepping it out (airscibes and such), or do you know someone who does? Preping small nodule fossil can be tricky. I'm learning that the hard way. Still It looks like there is more in the nodule and I can't think of another way to get it out. I use dilute Elmer's too by the way, it works great on the siderite nodules I find here.

I have a few tools, a rotary tool with grinding and cutting attachments, picks, files, an engraver and I got most of what I need for an air abrasive set up for christmas, all I need is a fine mesh (for sieving abrasives) , a finer point attachment for the airbrush and a dust collection system for the blast cabinet. What tools would you recommend for this?

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AgrilusHunter
46

AgrilusHunter 46

I've only started trying to prep out nodules in the past three weeks so I am definitely in the early learning stages ... there have been many casualties. I wouldn't recommend starting with the nodule you've posted above, that's for sure.

Right now I'm using dental picks, a Dremel, and an air abrasive set up set up but I'm not really happy with the results. I'll be purchasing a Micro-Jack from Paleo Tools later this month and I think that will work much better for the small fossils we find in nodules. You might try sending a PM to forum member Crinus. He has a lot of experience with prepwork and maybe could give you some ideas. Forum member RCfossils may also be able to recommend a good preparator to send it to if you want to go that route. Hope this helps!

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

I also learned a very valuable lesson yesterday, If you think the concretion might have a goniatite in it, freeze thaw probably isn't the best option, as it will probably fracture along suture lines and crumble in some other places

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Missourian
563

Missourian 563

I also learned a very valuable lesson yesterday, If you think the concretion might have a goniatite in it, freeze thaw probably isn't the best option, as it will probably fracture along suture lines and crumble in some other places

That's unfortunate. Can they be glued back together?

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PetrolPete
20

PetrolPete 20

Not very easily, it's fairly hard to tell where the fossil ends and the rock begins in many places, some pieces kinda just flaked off and the concretion kinda crumbled in many areas taking chunks of the goniatite with it here and there. On the plus side, I have about 20 similar ones I can save by not putting them in the freezer.